This invention relates to methods of manufacturing personal care products.
Antiperspirant and deodorant compositions are well known personal care products. The compositions come in a variety of forms and may be formulated, for example, into aerosols, pumps, sprays, liquids, roll-on, lotion, creams, and sticks (both hard and soft), etc.
There are various types of stick antiperspirant compositions. In one type, an antiperspirant salt is suspended in an anhydrous vehicle often including a solid water-insoluble wax. In a second type, an antiperspirant salt is dissolved in a liquid vehicle such as propylene glycol and gelled with a gelling agent such as dibenzylidene sorbitol. A third type includes an emulsion of an aqueous phase containing the antiperspirant salt and an oil phase containing, for example, a volatile silicone, fragrances, gallants, and other additives.
Cosmetic sticks including an antiperspirant portion and a deodorant portion are known in the art. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,202,879; 4,120,948; and 2,970,083.
Generally, the invention relates to methods of manufacturing an antiperspirant or deodorant product including an application surface having two portions having different compositions. The term xe2x80x9cportionxe2x80x9d, as used herein, includes the section or sections of the application surface having the same composition; for example, two sections having the same composition but separated by a third section (for instance, a central stripe) having a different composition constitute a single xe2x80x9cportionxe2x80x9d.
A product including two different portions provides flexibility in designing the product. For example, the two portions may include different antiperspirant salts, or different quantities of the same antiperspirant salt. Alternatively, a multiple-portion product allows ingredients that generally should be kept apart to be incorporated into the same product. For example, one portion may include an antiperspirant salt while a second portion includes a fragrance that is incompatible with the antiperspirant salt. Moreover, one portion may be firmer or stronger than, and provide support for, the other portion.
The multiple portion antiperspirant or deodorant product also provides the option of selecting from a number of aesthetically pleasing design choices. One portion can be clear and the other portion opaque. Moreover, the first portion and the second portion may have different colors, thus providing for a way to provide a composition including one or more stripes. xe2x80x9cDifferent colorxe2x80x9d, as used herein, includes different shades of a color. In addition, white and black are considered colors.
Two portion antiperspirant and deodorant products are described in copending application U.S. Ser. No. 09/784,493, filed the same day as the present application and commonly owned with the present application, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
In general, the invention features methods of making two portion antiperspirant products within a container. Preferred methods allow a two portion antiperspirant product to be manufactured quickly, e.g., in less than 10 seconds, or even in less than 6 seconds. There are a number of different aspects of the invention.
In one aspect, the invention features a method including delivering to an open end of the container, through a first delivery nozzle, a first fluid composition that will form the first portion, and, through a separate second delivery nozzle, a second fluid composition that will form the second portion, and preventing intermingling of the first and second compositions.
In some embodiments, intermingling is prevented by providing a molding surface against which at least one of the compositions is formed. The molding surface may provide a barrier between the first and second compositions. The molding surface may be removed before either of the compositions has solidified. The first and second compositions may be delivered simultaneously. Alternatively, one of the compositions may be delivered first, and allowed to at least partially solidify before the other composition is delivered. Preferably, the composition that is delivered first is allowed to solidify sufficiently so that it will not intermingle with the composition that is subsequently delivered. Preferably, the molding surface is cooled.
In another aspect, the invention features a method that includes (a) delivering to an open end of the container, through a first delivery nozzle, a first fluid composition that will form the first portion, (b) providing a molding surface, within the container, to define a molding cavity for the first fluid composition, (c) allowing the first composition to partially solidify, (d) through a separate second delivery nozzle, delivering a second fluid composition that will form the second portion, after the first composition has solidified sufficiently to prevent intermingling of the first and second compositions, and (e) removing the molding surface from the container during delivery of the second composition.
The term xe2x80x9cnozzlexe2x80x9d refers to any device that is capable of delivering a fluid composition. xe2x80x9cWithin the containerxe2x80x9d, as used herein, means that at least part of the composition is within the container; for example, when the upper end of the composition including the application surface extends above the container the composition still is considered xe2x80x9cwithin the containerxe2x80x9d. xe2x80x9cSolidifyxe2x80x9d, as used herein, encompasses fluids that solidify, for example, when cooled and gels that flow (i.e., are fluid) under pressure but then become substantially solid once the requisite pressure to flow is removed.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.